Manager Ryan Maxwell is finally allowing himself to get excited as Sittingbourne head to Southend United in the FA Trophy on Saturday.

This weekend, Sittingbourne will attempt to reach the last eight of the FA Trophy and beat arguably the biggest side the Brickies have ever faced in the Club’s near 130-year history when they travel to face former Football League side Southend United in Round Five of the Isuzu FA Trophy… 

Ryan Maxwell’s side head for the Essex coast looking for an eighth win in the Trophy this season and extend a run that started in the First Qualifying Round back in Early September with a 2-0 win over Sutton Common Rovers.

Since then, Kingstonian, Bognor Regis Town, Dover Athletic, Winchester City, Enfield Town and Salisbury have fallen to Maxwell’s Brickies but this weekend is undoubtedly Sittingbourne’s toughest and biggest test so far. 

Speaking to KSN, Maxwell told us, “It’s been a bit of a wait to get to this point – I personally have been focusing on the League as I have a job to do and we had games there to be won after we beat Salisbury and I had to focus on that!” 

“Now that’s done – unfortunately we had two games called off in the process, we have won the three games we managed to play and now we can all look forward to the weekend!”

“If I’m totally honest, I have been focused on the job at hand – I take my responsibility very seriously at the Club so I couldn’t let myself be distracted by a Cup match; I am at Woodstock to be successful in the League – that is my job – and I want to make sure we were all focused on that.”

“Up until last Saturday in the bar after we had won 4-0 at Croydon, was I able to really think about Southend. On the way home with Billy (McMahon) we had a chat and then got involved with the excitement of looking forward to it. Until that point, I have been focused on our League games.” 

“It’s a tremendous achievement to get this far and I have never this far been involved as a player or a manager in the last sixteen – it’s a first for me and I am absolutely loving the journey.”

“I have always called the Trophy “the Non-League FA Cup” – it’s huge and along the way you pick up scalps and play at different places as it’s a nationwide competition.”

“It really is a tremendous experience for myself as a relatively young manager and the players who have never been anywhere near this stage; there’s a couple who have had similar success in the Trophy, but other than that, it is pretty much new to everybody, and I have emphasised to everyone that they really have to enjoy the day, but ultimately even this weekend, we aren’t going to Roots Hall to make up the numbers at all, we are preparing to try to win a game of football and I am sure that we will give a good account of ourselves!” 

“I did play at Roots Hall once in my career a long time ago and it has probably changed a bit since then despite what a few fans have told me – I think I was about eighteen when I played there for Reading, so it was a long, long time ago, but I do remember some of it – a big open pitch with possibly a slight slope – but it was twenty odd years ago, so time does fly!” 

Sittingbourne will have the backing of over eight hundred supporters at the weekend as they bid for glory.

“It may even be more than that on the day,” Maxwell told us, “Phenomenal numbers, incredible, absolutely incredible! It’s going to be a tremendous day and it will be amazing to see so much red and black in the stands – it will be incredible for everybody and no more so with the directors and the people behind the scenes. I hope they enjoy it as much as we all should.”